‘Illut

During October 2007, a trial excavation was conducted in the village of ‘Illut in the Lower Galilee (Permit No. A-5266; map ref. NIG 224714/735878; OIG 174714/2358781; Fig. 1), in the wake of exposing ancient remains while building a new house. The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was directed by E. Amos, with the assistance of Y. Ya‘aqobi (administration), T. Kornfeld (surveying), H. Smithline (photography), M. Hartal (guidance), D. Avshalom (pottery consultation), H. Tahan (pottery drawing), Y. Gorin-Rosen (glass) and D. Syon (numismatics).

The ancient village of ‘Illut is located c. 6 km north of Zippori (Sepphoris), on the northern slope of the hill that descends toward wadi ‘Illut. The flowing spring in the center of the village was probably the core around which the ancient settlement may have been built. Numerous stone structures, some dating to the Ottoman period, are still standing in situ. A few open areas are left in the cemetery near the western mosque, where remains of ancient walls and numerous potsherds from various periods are visible. The village is identified with ‘Ayyatalu (Z. Safrai, 1981. The Galilee in the Time of the Mishna and Talmud, p. 261). A survey conducted in the village by D. Edwards, on behalf of Puget Sound University (License No. G-55/2007), documented rock-hewn tombs and sarcophagi from the Roman and Byzantine periods. To date, no archaeological excavations had been undertaken within the village.

An area (4.0×6.5 m; Fig. 2) was opened in the center of the village, c. 50 m north of the spring. Dense and well-preserved building remains that dated to the Hellenistic (end of third–second century BCE), Middle Roman (second–third centuries CE) and Byzantine (fifth–sixth centuries CE) periods were exposed. Potsherds dating to Middle Bronze II, the Iron Age and the Early Roman period were discerned in each of the excavation strata.

Early periods. Potsherds from MB II, such as a krater (Fig. 3:1) and the Iron Age, found in the upper strata, were apparently swept over from the slope.

Hellenistic period. A wall preserved five courses high (W3; length 2.7 m. width 0.5 m, preserved height 1.9 m; Fig. 4) was exposed. It was oriented east–west and built of coarsely hewn hard limestone (30 × 38 × 48 cm), with smaller stones fitting between them and arranged in courses. A floor (L21; Fig. 5) of flat fieldstones (c. 10 × 15 cm) abutted the northern side of W3. A bronze coin dating to the reign of Ptolemy II (286–245 BCE; IAA 106436) was found on the floor, as well as pottery vessels, which were also discovered beneath the floor, including a bowl (Fig. 3:2), cooking pots (Fig. 3:3, 4) and jars from the Hellenistic period (Fig. 3:5–8). The floor was covered with a layer of soil (L20) after it and W3 were no longer in use.

Early Roman period. Potsherds dating to the first century CE attest to the settlement’s occupation in this period.

In the later phase, surface was leveled with a thick fill layer of soil, building stones and fieldstones (L18) and another floor of crushed chalk (L15; Fig. 7) was installed. The ceramic artifacts in the fill layer and on Floor 15 were similar to those recovered from the lower chalk floor (L19).

Byzantine period. The southeastern corner of a building was exposed. A wall (W2; length 3.25 m, width 0.8 m, preserved height c. 2.5 m; Fig. 8) was built of well-dressed large stones (35 × 40 × 60 cm) with smaller stones between them that were arranged in courses. The bottom course was built of even larger stones and the western face of the wall was built of small stones and seems to have been the inside of the wall. The wall was founded within a deep foundation trench that had cut through the remains of the Middle Roman and Hellenistic periods (L7; Fig. 9). Two courses of large masonry stones were exposed of the corner wall (W12; length 2 m, width 0.7 m, preserved height 1 m) that was perpendicular to W2. Collapse of large building stones (L8; Fig. 10) that probably originated from these walls was exposed inside the structure.

The ceramic finds dated to the end of the Byzantine period and included Late Roman Red Ware bowls (Fig. 11:1–3), cooking pots and a lid (Fig. 11:4–6) and jars (Fig. 11:7, 8). Fragments of glass vessels that dated to the end of the Byzantine period or the Umayyad period were also found (Gorin-Rosen, below).

The impressive remains of the wall point to a large building had stood there. It seems that the building collapsed and was abandoned still within the Byzantine period. It was not possible to evaluate the nature of the building due to the limited scope of the excavation.

Mamluk period. A short section of a wall, one stone wide (W6; 0.5 × 1.1 m), which was built of different size stones, some in secondary use, was exposed. The wall was built on the severed western end of W3 (Hellenistic) and rested on the southeastern corner of the Byzantine building. A crushing stone (memmel) that belonged to an olive press was incorporated, in secondary use, in the eastern end of W3 (Fig. 12). A shallow channel was hewn across half of the crushing stone, draining into its center hole. A few potsherds from the Mamluk period were collected, including bowls (Fig. 11:9, 10) and a cooking pot (Fig. 11:11).

Ottoman period. Two pits (Loci 9, 10; Fig. 13) that were probably used as refuse pits were found. They contained an assortment of potsherds, including a pipe (Fig. 11:12) and a fragment of a Rashaya el-Fukhar jug (?; Fig. 11:13).

Glass Artifacts

Yael Gorin-Rosen

Forty-three glass fragments were discovered, fifteen of which could be identified and dated. Most of the vessels dated to the latter part of the Byzantine period. Four vessels from L8 are illustrated, including two rims of wine goblets, one undecorated (Fig. 14:1) and the other decorated with blue glass trails on the edge of the rim and below it (Fig. 14:2); a solid base of a wine goblet with a cylindrical stem (Fig. 14:3) and a small fragment of a mixing stick made of a wound glass trail (Fig. 14:4). The wine goblets are dated to the end of the Byzantine and the beginning of the Umayyad periods. The mixing stick should be dated to the Umayyad period, although sticks of this kind also occurred in the Early Roman period.

In addition to the vessels, glass industrial waste was found. It consisted of three different size lumps of raw glass and a slab from the bottom of the furnace that was covered with a layer of raw bluish greenish glass (Fig. 15). The appearance of industrial debris, together with glass artifacts that are dated to the end of the Byzantine period, prompt us to suggest that a workshop for producing glass vessels operated in the settlement at the same time.

Despite the limited scope of the excavation, it is apparent that the modern village of ‘Illut is situated on a tell that was occupied during several periods. The earliest periods—Middle Bronze II, Iron Age and Early Roman period—were only represented by ceramic artifacts, although the settlement remains are probably located close by. During the Hellenistic, Middle Roman and Byzantine periods a dense settlement was at the site. The plethora of finds from the Middle Roman period, which included bowls and jars that were produced in Kefar Hananya and Sikhin, confirms the existence of a settlement at a time to which the baraita refers to the Gate Priesthood in ‘Ayyatalu.